Customer Reviews

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was both thrilled and slightly apprehensive when I heard that Alison Weir was publishing her first novel. I was thrilled because she has long been one of my favorite historical writers (especially when it comes to the Tudor era) and her books have always been extremely readable, leading me to think she might be a good fiction writer. I was also thrilled because of the subject matter, Lady Jane Grey, the Nine day Queen of England who is easily one of the most interesting and tragic figures of the Tudor age; yet very few fictional books have been written about her. I was apprehensive because I theorized (correctly it turned out) that as a writer who has previously only published non-fiction it seemed that Ms. Weir might have a tendency to be dry and not emotionally expressive in her fictional writing.

Nonetheless for a first novel this a very good book, packed with historical detail (you'd expect nothing less from this author) and various first person viewpoints (mostly female) including: Jane Grey, Frances Brandon (her mother) Mrs. Ellen (her nurse), Queen Catherine Parr, Mary Tudor and John Dudley the Duke of Northumberland. Each person has a very distinctive voice and so the story varies from being told from a cynical viewpoint to a religious one, from a loving nurse to a harsh ambitious parent.

You get a great feel in this book for Jane's life as the unwanted daughter of highly ambitious parent's desperate for a son who compromised by trying their whole lives to marry her off to the boy King Edward. It didn't matter that they made her miserable in their quest to make her a perfect royal bride. And then of course King Edward dies and John Dudley, desperate for power to stay in his hands as he enjoyed it as president of the King's council, changes the succession so Jane (who's maternal grandmother was Henry's little sister) is heir and marries Dudley's youngest son. You know of course, what happens next. Jane is queen for nine days, Mary escapes the planned capture and recaptures her throne without a battle, and eventually Jane is beheaded for her crime.

What's really interesting about this book isn't the history (well it wasn't for me, but I already knew it all) it's the underlying religious debate. In the book the country goes from being semi-catholic after Henry VIII cut off from Rome (but before they were Protestant) to Protestant, to having a Catholic queen and all the time religious fanatics are in charge. King Edward was one, for the Protestants, as was Jane. In fact if someone met Jane Grey today I suspect she would be intolerable because of her "I have the true religion and yours is false" belief system. There was no tolerance back then.

All in all this is a good book, the history is great, the background culture put in place to understand the history was great and the voices were all very distinct. But like I said earlier-there is a lack of emotion, certain dryness in this book. In spite of the highly charged emotional settings and happenings in this book I had a hard time connecting with the characters.

Four stars. And I do hope Ms. Weir writes more novels in the future-unlike other historical fiction authors you can count on the facts in her books being correct.

"A beautiful daughter, my lady," announces the midwife uncertainly. "Healthy and vigorous." I should be joyful, thanking God for the safe arrival of a lusty child. Instead, my spirits plummet. All this-for nothing.

So begins the story of Lady Jane Grey. Historian and gifted author Alison Weir, in her first foray into the realm of fiction, has brought the world of Tudor England vividly alive in her version of the events that took place after the death of Henry VIII. Through first person narratives by Jane herself and a number of the other central characters, Jane's brief, tragic life unfolds. Known today as the Nine Days Queen, this maltreated girl was the innocent, unwilling pawn of her parents' political ambitions and victim of the vicious religious conflict that tore England apart during the 16th century. All the pageantry, plotting, and maneuvering of the royal court swirls around Jane as she grows, until the age of 15 when she is horrified to find that she has been declared Queen of England in place of the rightful heir, the Catholic (soon to be "Bloody") Mary. Vibrant characters, a plot that's hard to believe but true, and accurate period detail make this first novel an enthralling page-turner.

If Jane had been the hoped-for son , would her fate have been different? Would her brother's? Somehow, with the the Marquess and Marchioness of Dorset as parents, that's doubtful. The dearth of male heirs was a plague on the house of Tudor.

Longtime history author Alison Weir has taken on one of the more tragic tales of Tudor kings and queens in her latest work, Innocent Traitor, which takes a close look at the Nine Days Queen, Lady Jane Grey.

The story starts with two women in childbirth. The first is a highborn lady, Frances Grey, who is desperately wishing for a son after her first two children have died. But it's a girl, and Frances has nothing but disappointment and bitterness for the child, and is more than happy to give her over to the care of a nurse, Mrs. Ellen. The other woman is none other than Henry VIII's third wife, Jane Seymour, who finally gives birth to the King's prayed for son, Edward. But Queen Jane dies within weeks of her child's birth, and Frances notes that there might be a link between the two infant children, and she names her daughter Jane in honor of the late queen.

We first see Jane through the eyes of her mother, and Mrs. Ellen. Mrs. Ellen is devoted to her charge, and tries to make life as bearable as possible for Jane, who not only is precociously bright, but is subjected to physical abuse by her parents, and at best, indifference. Both Frances and her husband, Henry Grey, the Marquess of Dorset, are ruthlessly ambitious and see their daughter as something to use, and treat her with behavior that today would be called mental and emotional abuse. Frances in particular sees nothing wrong with slapping, pinching and whipping her daughter whenever poor Jane makes a mistake, and the only time the child has any comfort is when she travels to the King's court.

It's here that the novel starts to fall into place. Young Jane, with her Tudor colouring of red hair and grey blue eyes is a favorite of her great-uncle, the king, and his last wife, the scholarly Katherine Parr. Jane finds in the Queen a kindred spirit and a kindly woman who only wants Jane to be happy. For Jane, it is a blessed respite from the torments of her family home, and she also makes the aquaitance of the king's two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. Mary is ferverently Catholic and while she treats Jane kindly, Jane is more than a little wary of her. Elizabeth is bold, clever and Jane finds that she can discuss politics and philosophy with her, but also finds that she's far more risk taking, especially when King Henry dies, and Queen Katherine starts turning her attention to a former suitor, Thomas Seymour.

Thomas Seymour is blindly jealous of his elder brother, now Lord Protector for the new King, a boy of nine years. Thomas not only tries to woo Queen Katherine, but also Mary and Elizabeth, and it seems, even young Jane. But for Jane, he has a different destiny in mind -- a possible wedding to the young king. And Jane finds herself caught up in royal politics, and in lover's secrets, and soon enough is set on a path that will make her a legend...

Despite knowing quite well how Lady Jane's story is going to turn out, I found this to be an exciting read. Alison Weir uses her extensive research into the history and private lives of England's Tudor dynasty to tell a story of family betrayal that is heartbreaking to say the very least. Each person in the story, from Jane, her mother Frances, the Lady Mary, Katherine Parr, the Dudley and Seymour families, and even Mrs. Ellen, has a voice here. Each one is distinct and has their own mannerisms, and we get to see motivations and plots spinning. Weir also focuses on just enough details to set the mood, but sometimes overuses a phrase -- courtiers, for example, are nearly always "peacock" -- but also takes care not to let the story itself get lost in the trivia.

But if the reader thinks that this is a dry read, it's not. That's what I was surprised with, and Weir keeps the story moving at a rapid pace, shifting point of view from one character to another. At times the story gets dizzying and at first the use of first-person-narrative for the voice gets hard to keep track of. It's not an easy style to use, but Weir manages to pull it off, and by the middle to the end of the story, I had hardly any trouble with it at all.

Summing up, if you want an exciting historical novel with a heroine who actually lived, I would suggest this one. While it doesn't have actual romance to it, or at least romance that isn't being motivated by polical scheming, it does have plenty of plot to chew over. Jane may come off as a little, self-righteous prig by the end of the story, but you can still feel sympathy for her right up to the very end.

Two nonfiction biographies about Lady Jane Grey and her family have been published, one by Mary M. Luke, and the other by Alison Plowden. There has also been a film, "Lady Jane" that takes some liberties with the relationship between Jane and Guilford Dudley, but is also very close in feel to the book.

Recommended.

I have always been fascinated with Lady Jane's story, ever since I was a child. I have read most of Alison Weir's non-fiction books and loved them, and so I really looked forward very much to this book. And it didn't disappoint. She has fictionalized the story very well, holding strong to accuracy (and we know we can trust her in this, as a historian) and the few liberties she has taken (for example, Lady Jane's presence at the execution of Anne Askew) are not glaring or out-of-place.

The relationship between Jane and Guilford was portrayed as brutal, perhaps overtly so, but I much prefer this over the notorious innacuracy of their relationship in the 1986 movie. Again, a place where Weir had to "fill-in-the-blanks", and I am glad she did so in a more realistic way than others have chosen to when telling this sad story.

The constantly character-shifting narration did not bother me, although at first I was disappointed in the choice of the executioner's narration for the final scene of Lady Jane's life; I would have preferred Mrs. Ellen, as it seemed so impersonal. But ultimately, maybe this was a good choice; Jane herself was, in that situation, detatched from those who had cared for her, and so why shouldn't the reader join her in the hands of this stranger?

The author's afterword, to me, was one of the best parts of the book. You can tell she is excited about her first fiction. She's sharing her experience of having written it with the reader, even mentioning how she had to "use her imagination" in parts. It's endearing. You can tell she had a good time writing it, and I appreciate that she shared those feelings with us.

"Innocent Traitor" is a good book, based on a horrific and tragic story, and I'm very glad this respected author decided to tell it accurately.

The term "political pawn" could have been created to describe the short life of Lady Jane Grey. The eldest daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Suffolk, Jane was groomed from infancy to marry a prince or king. Her parents had great ambitions for their daughter, their greatest dream being to marry her to Edward VI, son of King Henry VIII. This dream died at his demise at age 15, leaving the way open for a bid to seize the throne.

Her parents conspired with John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland to marry his son Guildford to young Jane and place them on the throne, an act designed to prevent Mary, Edward's half-sister, from returning the country to Catholic rule. Jane's short rule, as the "nine-day queen," led ultimately to her imprisonment in the Tower of London and death by beheading when Mary claimed her throne.

Alison Weir is a noted writer of popular history of the British monarchy and Innocent Traitor is her first historical novel. Readers may assume that some of the most far-fetched events described here are fiction; however as Weir states: "they are the parts most likely to be based on fact."

Beginning with Jane's infancy, Weir combines historical fact with educated guesses to create a compelling tale. Alternating between the key players, she creates convincing and unique voices for each. Jane endured a brutal childhood at the hands of a domineering and abusive mother and their relationship is portrayed realistically. Innocent Traitor brings to Tudor period vividly to life.

Lady Jane Grey was an unusual woman for her time. As Weir explains: "Precocious, highly gifted, and intelligent, she was educated to an unusually advanced standard for a girl and realized that there was more to a woman's life than just marrying, having children, and running a household." Her determination to remain true to her faith, and face her death with dignity, together with having the shortest reign in British history, have made her a figure of fascination for many.

Armchair Interviews says: Fascinating look at the Tudor period.

I have always loved to read anything and everything Tudor (including several of Weir's non-fiction works), and was most interested to see how this author's first foray into historical fiction would pan out.

I was pleasantly surprised, except that the story is told in the first person by so many different people. It was a bit disconcerting to me, but I'm just splitting hairs. A fascinating, sad, tragic tale of a beautiful, intelligent girl who was at the mercy of her power hungry elders. Highly recommended.

It's an interesting concept for a historical novel, sharing the story of Lady Jane Grey, teenaged queen of England for only a few days before being confined to the Tower and eventually beheaded. What events brought her to that point? What kind of person was she? The author tries to answer some of these questions while entertaining the reader. In general, I think she did better at entertaining than at answering those questions.

In general the read was enjoyable, but there were some significant negatives:

1) There is a gratuitous rape scene with explicit descriptions. It's speculation as to whether such a thing occurred, but even if it did, it could easily have been handled by seeing her in the morning bruised and bleeding. This was a big negative for me.

2) The use of a large number of 1st-person narrators, approximately 10 (though the vast majority of the narration is confined to a smaller number). Every few pages the point-of-view changed to someone else, all speaking in the 1st person and not always well distinguished in voice. You have to be careful to look at the section header to know who is talking. I think it would have been better if the list had been narrowed down a bit, or perhaps to have used a 3rd person omniscient narrator.

3) The language was quite modern at times. Turns of phrase that it's quite obvious were not from the time period.


As for answering the questions about Lady Jane Grey, the author does very little to make it clear what is pure speculation, what is educated guesswork, and what is established from source material from the time period. Beyond the basic framework of the succession of the throne from person to person, there was very little I knew that I could accept as truth. I feel there should have been an extended author's note or chapter end notes making it clear where this all came from. I wanted to be entertained, but I wanted to know what was truth, what was fiction, and what was leaning one way or the other.

Overall, I'd say to pass on this book. In the end, I think it falls short both in the categories of history and fiction.

This is the story of Queen Jane, the Nine Days Queen, who at sixteen briefly held the throne after Edward the IV, and before Mary I. Allison Weir is a historian who has written a number of books on the British royal family, and this is her first historical novel. The depth of Weir's historical knowledge is put on fine display here, and the details and extent of her research are excellent, but the characters' thoughts and dialogue are frequently awkward, reflecting her inexperience with such devices.

In this novel, Weir fills in all the little details of history, giving the story of Jane's life from birth. She uses shifting perspective, first-person narration from most of the major characters in Jane's life, to give immediacy and a wide range of knowledge to the reader. Weir carefully assigns emotions and motivations to her narrators to make the decisions history assigns them logical, and her research and thought are so careful that it is sometimes impossible to tell where fact leaves off and speculation begins. However, it is not *always* difficult to tell where the fiction begins, because character revelations are sometimes very awkwardly handled. When John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and an important influence on the events of Jane's life, is introduced for the first time, we are told in his voice, "Looking in my mirror, I see a bull of a man with cold black eyes ... Some call me ruthless, but I prefer to see myself as a pragmatist, for whom the end justifies the means." It is very helpful to see John Dudley as this type of man, to understand his actions, but it is odd to read it in this way. Also, while the first-person narration should give each character an emotional impact by bringing immediacy and involvement to the story, every single one of the narrators are similarly and singularly detached. A prime example of this is Frances Brandon's description of her own labor: "In fact, when I am not crying out in my agony, ... I am terrified out of my wits. Indeed, I am now beyond caring whether I bear a son or a daughter..." The device of using each character to explain themselves and their own perspective is a good one, and even in this book it frequently works, but it sometimes falls far short of the mark, and is on occasion simply ridiculous. Having the executioner be the final narrator is a great idea, but I was taken out of the moment by his goofy voice: "It don't do to get too sentimental about this job," and "God, we've been rushed off our feet with hangings these past few days," are annoying distractions from what I want to focus on - the emotion of Jane's impending death.

In spite of these flaws, this book is full of juicy history and strange but true events. Some things which it seems the author must have made up to give greater impact are actually true - Jane's refusal to convert to Catholicism even to save her own life, and her last, poignant groping for the block. The book is easy to read and enjoyable even with the awkward style, and satisfied my desire to know all the gory details of Queen Jane's life. For anyone with a similar inclination, it's well worth a read.

I quite enjoy Alison's Weir's histories, but this historical novel fell flat. Too many different narrators muddied the waters, and the chapters narrated by young Jane Grey required a heavy suspension of disbelief. A four-year-old child, however precocious, should not be speaking in the narrative voice of an adult.

Potential readers should be warned that there is a very gratutious rape scene, which I suspect might be attempt to distance this novel from the romance of the Helena Bonham-Carter film Lady Jane. But it just seems like a shortcut to making the character of Jane Grey seem even more tragic. (Her constant stress-induced illnesses, beating at the hands of her mother, and inevitable downfall would seem more than enough, without adding something that sounds like something out of a bad bodice-ripper)

Worse, I got bored in the middle sections, as all the Tudor backstory was being established. I know the lead-up was needed so those less familiar with the reign of Henry VIII and Edward VI will have all the information. But in the right hands, the court of Henry VIII should never seem dull.

Alison Weir writes a wonderful novel about Lady Jane Grey.

While the novel is sympathetic to Jane Grey, it is not sentimental about her fate. As the pawn of ambitious parents and those who held power while Edward VI reigned, her uncrowned reign was both opportunistic and, I believe, unlawful.

This was not her doing, though, and it is hard to not to feel considerable sympathy for an intelligent young woman who was only 17 when she was beheaded.

Mary I really had no choice, but it is difficult to see that she took any great joy in executing her 'misguided' cousin. The 'real' villains are Lady Jane's parents and the Duke of Northumberland.

Highly recommended to those who would like some insight into the tragically short life of Lady Jane.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith